Replacing Mower Deck Bearings on a John Deer or other mower
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- Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
- This video will show you how to replace your lawn mower deck bearings. It will explain how to know if your mower deck bearings are going bad. I will show you how to remove and replace your mower deck bearings. I will explain the techniques you can use to remove stubborn bearings from the spindle shaft. Most brands of mowers have similar bearings. This video should be helpful in showing you how to replace mower deck bearings in most mowers.
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Wayne
These videos make me think of hanging out with some of the older folks like my dad and uncles. They have so much to teach!
Older folks are a wealth of information and a very unused resource. I really enjoyed reading your comment. Thanks for visiting and have a great day.
This video sure came in handy today. Bought two new complete spindles. Broke a bolt off in one. Disassembled it and used an old housing to rebuild it. Thank you sir.
You are very welcome and thank you for visiting, have a great day.
I've done it deck off, but without removing the spindles. Saves time.
Thanks for your post.
Thanks for the comment but I like removing the deck. I'm old and don't get down and up like I used to LOL Thank you for visiting and have a great day.
@@DIYwithWayne No Wayne he said he didn't remove the spindles meaning the spindle housing. Many people don't remove the housings because of the risk of bolts snapping off or splitting the housing since steel bolts and aluminum housings oxidize. When there is no need to remove them best not to risk it. Also if you put the nut back on the top threads and remove the grease fitting so there is no chance of breaking it off then there is zero harm hitting the top of the shaft to drive it out the bottom with a normal hammer or even small mall. Using a real hammer speeds the process up. But over all a good video and congratulation on the channel, your videos help lots of people do things they might have to pay someone else to do for them,
I've replaced a lot of bearings, most mower shops tell you, you can't change the bearings, you need to change the entire spindle. As you just showed folks, you can replace just the bearings.
Great video Sir.
Yes you can. I have been replacing bearings like this for over 40 years. The spindles have changer VERY little over the years. Thank you for the kind comment and for visiting, have a great day.
Wayne you are the best, really well explain and easy to understand...
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Thank you for this video. It was superbly detailed yet simple enough to understand. I got my bearings (set of 6) for my 48" deck on Ebay for $20.00.
Great to hear! Thank you for the kind comment and for visiting, have a great day.
I love your videos and it makes it so easy to understand. I Love them and I wasn't sure how to change the Bearings on the mower deck. Thanks so much. I am in the process of redoing a mower deck so what a great help. thanks again From Peterborough Canada
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Thank you for your complete instructions. As a woman having to do this myself, i am grateful! Even the size of sockets. Thank you!
You are very welcome and thank you for visiting, have a great day.
Thanks Wayne! I just needed to see the part about how to get it apart. Didn't realize at a glance they're just pressed/friction fit in. Easy! So much cheaper to replace the bearings than buy a spindle assembly!
Good luck with your project thanks for watching and have a great day.
Very thorough video. I really appreciate you taking the time to make this. I’ve been servicing my JD x300 for 14 years. I replaced the spindles once but am having trouble getting them again. I bought the bearings and am now confident I can tackle this because of your video. I usually don’t like watching mistakes and back tracking but in this case it was very helpful in making me aware of what to watch out for. Thank you very much. I definitely subbed and will be checking out the video you linked to sharpening your blades. I hobby making knives and love all things sharpening. Knives chisels blades etc. 👍👍👍
I'm glad it helped. I sort of made 1 knife before. My mother in law has a VERY old knife and the metal in the handle rusted out. I took an old steak knife and repaired it by using the metal in the handle and welding it to the remains of the old knife. Then re attached the the steak knife handles back onto the knife. It worked out very well. And she is happy. Thank you for visiting and have a great day.
Very informative video Wayne! Enjoyed watching and learning. Thanks for posting!
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Just bought a used D110 and this is the exact video I needed. Thanks for the insight!
Glad it was helpful! Thank you for the kind comment and for visiting, have a great day.
Thanks for the good informative video on the spindle bearings. I've only seen vids on replacing the spindle, nothing on just the bearings. I figure there's some spindle replacement coming up, and this gives a whole other option that looks straightforward enough.
I'm glad you found it. I've been replacing just the bearings for 50 years now. Good luck with your project and have a great day.
Thank you for the video about replacing the bearings. A few weeks ago I bought a 1988 John Deere 185 and after watching a video where they said to throttle the motor down bear idle so you can more easily hear the bearing noise all I could hear was LOTS of grinding as you presented in your video. Tomorrow BEFORE I drop the deck I am going to remove the belts so I can spin the individual shafts and see if all three are bad.
If any are bad, I would suggest replacing all 3 sets. They are not hard to replace and a lot of the work is in getting to them. Good luck with your project and have a great day.
@@DIYwithWayne Bought new bearings for every shaft. They do not seem too bad,,,,BUT the mower is OLD. And the blades were really bad.
Thank you, I learned a lot, and it was easy to understand all the steps by how you presented it.
Glad it was helpful! Thank you for the kind comment and for visiting, have a great day.
You had me at the first growl when putting that socket on the impact driver
LOL I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for visiting and have a great day.
Replacing brg is smart and saves money, plus you can fix them to take grease also
Thank You
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Thanks a lot for sharing this. Your video is very well explained and filmed . Got halfway through mowing and could feel nasty vibrations so off with the deck tomorrow lol
Good luck with your project! Thank you for the kind comment and for visiting, have a great day.
Thank you for taking the time and effort to explain. Much appreciated I assure you. My project was my z435 48" deck. I need to invest in an impact wrench, it would have been helpful today. I got it done with 1/2" long handle drive ratchet. A 22mm socket on the pulley and 19mm socket on the blade.
Glad it helped Thank you for the kind comment and for visiting, have a great day.
Very good video, thank you. Going to "play" with my JD today.
Thank you!. Have a great day and enjoy your "playtime"!
One of the other you tube mower repair guys says you can use a center bunch around bearing race to expand the bearing area and to tighten up the fit of the bearings. He demonstrated it on a old worn out crastman deck and it did tighten up the bearing install.
Thank you for your suggestion and for visiting our channel. We hope you have a great day.
I would not suggest that. The race is extremely hard and you will more than likely distort the race or even fracture it. It is best peen the housing in which the bearing is pressed into because it is a softer metal and doesn’t distort the bearing itself.
Very informative. Thanks.
Glad it was helpful! Thank you for visiting and have a great day.
I’ve got an older Deere 170 mower, and there is a double groove pulley (has a belt on the top that comes from the PTO to the deck, then the bottom pulley drives the belt for the deck) that is making a lot of noise, do you know if that double groove pulley uses the same bearings as the spindles?
I don't know but it might be the same. Thank you for visiting and have a great day.
It looks like the 1st pulley was wobbly when he put it back on. Did it just not go back on square or is the spindle bent?
I'm not sure what you saw but the pulley turns true. The pulley may have a small warp but that's all. Thank you for visiting and have a great day.
@@DIYwithWayne 22:50 here is where I mean … it maybe a visual effect but looks like the pulley is off somehow. At any rate very thorough and helpful!
The pulley has a slight wrap to it, but it is OK.
I have watched other videos where they took off the seal, repacked the bearings, resealed and installed. Grease will work past the seals to the bearings, just takes a lot of grease and grease pressure.
You are correct but I just like taking the inside seal out best. Thank you for your suggestion and for visiting our channel. We hope you have a great day.
Fantastic video! Thank you.
You are very welcome and thank you for visiting, have a great day.
Thanks for the video, exactly what needs to be done on my dads La115 mower.
Doing it yourself saves a LOT of money. Good luck with your project and have a great day.
Great video I got my bearings and all my tools ready actually going to do mine today and if things go as planned I'll be mowing soon I have one question now I know my Jhon deare inside and out but never changed bearings out just new spindles 🤑 "That's What She Said " So why should we remove any seal ? Awesome Video I felt like I was there with ya God Bless my PAPI 👍
I only removed the seal that points to the inside of the housing. This lets the grease you add over time using the grease fitting get into the bearings. If you don't remove the inside seal, it is more difficult for the grease to get inside the bearing. Good luck. Thank you for visiting and have a great day.
@@DIYwithWayne Thank you Sir for your quick reply It mkes since and i will do that... I forgot to Subscribe I will do it now...Thank's
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Very informative 👍❤️👍
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sometimes fun and games. I was farmsitting and the lady had bought a mower at auction and asked me to change sharpen the blades. Oh man were they stuffed. But worse was te paly and grinding in 2 of the 3 spindles. Stripped them down and some bodgey ( that's Kiwi for rough) had been done before. old bearings used for spacer, angle grinder used to remove jammed inner race and the spindle gouged. She didn't want to buy a new spindle so was going to get it welded! Probably about the same cost as buying a new one. I left it in pieces for her to finish off!
Sounds to me like she is going to waste her money and end up purchasing new spindles anyway. Like you, I would have walked away. Thank you for visiting and have a great day.
23:09 Use Loctite 620 for bearing bores that have become a bit worn. Works well.
I have never tried that but will remember your suggestion next time. Thank you for visiting and have a great day.
Because they put sealed bearings in them you can't grease them
What were the size of bearings you replaced in the spindles?
I don't know the size. I just took one to a mower repair store and they had bearings that matched. Thank you for visiting and have a great day.
I did the same but I hand packed the bearing before I tapped them in, also I hand packed the housing, some don’t have zerts
Good job! Thank you for visiting and have a great day.
I was wondering about packing them before install
Great vidio ,but i havent seen a vidio how to change drive ,and idler .bearings ? being 6203 ,common bearings on John Deere.
For those, I would replace the pulley. Most are riveted together and yes you could take them apart but the assembly not very expensive. Good luck with your project and have a great day.
Great video
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Thanks
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Nice video!
Thanks! Thank you for visiting and have a great day.
What bearing size did you order? ID AND OD?
The bearings will be stamped with a part number that can be used by the parts people to identify the replacement size. If you go to a John Deere Dealer they will know what size they are. I also try to take one of the old bearings with me to get replacements to be sure I get the correct ones. In other words I don't know the OD and ID of the bearings. Thank you for visiting and have a great day.
Quick hint throw those bearings in the freezer over night metal shrinks making it easier
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Awesome mate
Thank you for the kind comment and for visiting, have a great day.
dont you risk the bearings falling out when you take the seal off and hit it with the hammer??
No, The bearing will not come apart. The seal is only there to keep girt out. Thank you for visiting and have a great day.
I am a small engine mechanic and I have found out you need to show people that you must take out the bearing inside, where is the seal is first, or the grease will never get inside the bearing.
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Clean the underdeck PERFECTLY wire brush it good. THEN spray on a heavy coat of WD-40 Specialist® Dry Lube.
Home Depot shows $8.88ea. AMZ shows $7.98ea. A bit pricey sure, but next season you will find hardly any grass
stuck to your underdeck. Reapply every other season.
!
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You might be able to take up the wear in that housing by wrapping the new bearing with aluminum foil and driving it in. Once it is driven inside the hole, I don't see how it could get out, maybe put some thread locker on it to keep it in place.
Next time I may try your idea. Thank you for your suggestion and for visiting our channel. We hope you have a great day.
Many years ago when I was a mechanic, I used Loctite 680 for this. It's pretty much a "fill the gap" Loctite that is made for this and works well.
Thanks for the suggestion. Next time I will try that.
.................. LIKED VIDEO ....................
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Those bearings are 6203 RS most spindle, and idler pulleys use the same bearings. With an idler pulley, I drill out the pop rivets and use nuts and bolts to put back together. Mych cheaper than new idler pulleys. I also buy the bearings in a 10 pack on line usually less than $2 per bearing.
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@@DIYwithWayne
Thank you, and good luck with your zero turn, Sir
I like to throw the new bearings in the freezer for a couple of hours, to slightly contract the metal, before tapping them in place. I also use the old bearings in between the new ones to tap in place. I never directly tap the new bears with a hammer.
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Use a torque wrench for final tightening to prevent stripping threads or snapping bolts , Especially with the bearing housings which looks like die cast aluminum which bolt threads strip very easily , I only use an impact wrench for loosening and use a torque wrench for final tightening
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@@DIYwithWayne You're welcome
However , If you happen to strip the threads
Especially with aluminum parts , The best way to fix it is with a Heli Coil thread repair kit , I've used the Heli Coil many times with great success
I would recommend anti seize on your bolt treads
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What about torque settings on bolts?
I have never used a torque wrench on them. John Deere may have a setting but I just tighten them good and tight. Thank you for visiting and have a great day.
@@DIYwithWayne
Thanks for the reply.
I just wondered and I anticipated the response.
In most cases tight enough is what you want. And with an impact wrench you'll get it.
The factory torque setting for John Deere blade nuts is 65 ft lbs, as according to the owner’s manual for the 100 series.
Hy remove the towers? The bolts fresh off rely easy but it's not necessary to remove the towers
You are correct that I did not need to remove the spindles but if not it would be much more difficult to video what I'm going. Thank you for visiting and have a great day.
What size is the bearing? spent 18 min watching, really all i wanted.
I don't know the size. I just took one to a mower repair store and they had bearings that matched. Thank you for visiting and have a great day.
You can get grease sealed bearings. It takes 80 pumps. There’s a youtube video showing a different color grease getting inside. I tried it on my John Deere X300.
By the time my bearings wobble and become loose it’s chewed into the housing. I just buy new spindles.
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Cleaning with A little emery cloth or steel wool would help slide that top collar on
That's a good idea! Thank you for your suggestion and for visiting our channel. We hope you have a great day.
JB weld will hold the bearing in place. You are going to replace the housing next time anyway.
Your suggestion may work for some people but I have never let mine get that bad. I have had mowers like this for over 50 years and have never replaced a spindle. Thank you for your suggestion and for visiting our channel. We hope you have a great day.
If you're replacing the whole spindle assembly, make sure the ones you order have grease fittings so your bearings don't dry up and fail. Not all of them come that way.
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@@DIYwithWayne I'd also like to encourage those who have problems like this to invest in the equipment and do it yourself. Calling a dealer is the most expensive thing you can do!!!!!!!!
The old bearings you took out were sealed. You can't put grease in sealed bearings.
Sure you can. The pressure from the grease gun will push the grease past the seals. The seals are only good for keeping dust and dirt out. Thank you for visiting and have a great day.
They come with sealed bearings, you can grease that shaft all you want to but the grease will.never get into the bearings. You need to take inside seal out of bearings and and put back in with open side of bearing to the inside of shaft. Then grease can get in the bearings. You won't have to change bearings for many years after that as long as you keep them greased
That is what I said in the video. Thank you for visiting and have a great day.
lol those are not seals they are dust covers and grease goes right past them , a grease gun puts out 10 000 psi , grease until you see it come out ends of spindle , therefore you know you are flushing out the old contaminated grease that is in bearings .
How the hell does John Deere think the spindle grease will dovsbytjj g for the bearings? They're deal tight bearings you can't grease them so the grease in tire spindle is to help you feel better.
Put some divets with a punch and this will tighten up the bearings if there loose in the housing
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Very nice video. If the seal is removed from the top bearing, gravity and centrifugal forces may result in the top bearing running’s dry.
If grease is forced out of the spindle assembly two things may happen, the bearings may be lifted from their seats or moisture will be attracted to the grease and find it way into the assembly.
The bearings are sealed for a reason, but before fitting they should be inspected for the correct amount of grease even if it means having to repack the new bearings.
The grease nipple is provided to ensure the spindle shaft is lubricated and to reduce heat build-up. The fact that there is no exit point for the grease means that over filling can result and not having an exit point means that once the spindle is cavity is filled with grease it will not require replacing for the life of the spindle.
In my experience John Deere spindles will last 150 hours before the bearing require replacement.
I have not had the problems you describe. Your comment does make me think and I wonder what others think? Thank you for visiting and have a great day.
Part # of bearing would help.
The old part number will be stamped in the bearing and different manufacturers will have different part numbers. If you go to a John Deere Dealer, they will know what you need. If you go to a parts place, they should be able to match your old bearing to what they sell. Good luck with your project and have a great day.
If grease comes out on the pulley side like that then it's been pumped so full of grease it popped the seal off the bearing. That's not good. You want to stop pumping in grease before it forces off the bearing seals.
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its a dust cover not a seal and it cannot come off because the bolts have a flat area against them that rest against the covers and are beveled on the outter edge to let the grease get by , you are suppose to grease till it comes out end so you can flush old grease out , also please tell me how you know when to stop pumping grease so it gets into bearing it doesn't come out , that is like one pump difference , if you know that you know the lottery numbers lol
Pro tip. If there's room for an impact gun then use a gun. If there's no room for a gun, then use an air rachet.
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Remember the lower bearing assembly is slightly larger in diameter 😅
I'm not following you. All the bearings are the same part number, so they are the same size. Thank you for visiting and have a great day.
According to John Deere, the lower bearing is larger.
Maybe on other brands, it is not.
That could be, but on my John Deere they are the same.
You can't grease sealed bearings that's why you remove the inner seal
You can but it does not do a good job. Thank you for visiting and have a great day.
those are not seals they are dust covers and grease goes right past them , a grease gun puts out 10 000 psi , grease until you see it come out ends of spindle , there fore you know you are flushing out the old contaminated grease that is in bearings .
They’re only $15 for a set of 4 on Amazon
That's good to know. Thank you for visiting and have a great day.
Should grease
Should Grease what? I did show adding grease to the bearings.
Should have hand packed bearings before install, easy time to do it, know you will pump them after but you know their purged. Just saying...
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Freeze the bearings and they drop in with no banging
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amazon 10 of them for $15.19
That's a very good price. Thank you for visiting and have a great day.
the deck.
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Interesting that there is a grease point on each hub (yes, I own a small Deere ride on) yet the bearings are sealed! No amount of grease you put in there is going to help them at all!
The pressure applied with a grease gun in more than is needed to get past the seals. The grease will get into the bearings. Thank you for visiting and have a great day.
Great video
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